Best Foot Forward (The Best Girls 3)

Emily debated whether to push her on the subject. “Tell me the truth, Grace. Who is Horatio? Because I don’t buy it—everything you’ve said about him is a little fishy. You broke up with Brad to date him, but you haven’t actually been out with him yet. He’s already given you a ring with a huge diamond, but his mother paid for it? And earlier tonight you took the ring off, so why are you wearing it again? When are we going to meet him?”

“Sunday night—you’ll meet him at Sunday night dinner,” said Grace as she fled down the stairs.

*****

Where on earth was she going to find a guy to play Horatio by Sunday night? She had less than forty-eight hours to find someone. She’d seen movies where you could hire someone, an escort. But she didn’t have that kind of money. She could easily pick up a guy in a bar, but not one who’d be willing to play her pretend boyfriend. Her only choice was to bring someone in on the subterfuge—Olivia. Lucky for her, Olivia was studying at home tonight. She hurried home to beg her sister for help.

“But I don’t know if I can find a guy who’s willing to do this,” Olivia objected. “And I don’t really want you and Brad to break up anyway. I can’t believe you made up a guy just so you could have an excuse to stop dating Brad. Why didn’t you just tell him you were freaked about him talking about marriage?”

“I don’t know. It just happened. But I’m going to look like an idiot if I don’t produce a real boyfriend now, especially since Brad has already moved on.” Grace’s mind was filled with an image of the tall, beautiful blond who’d been so affectionate with Brad. “And the guy needs to be really cute, too. Leanne is everything I’m not. She’s smart and super tall—even taller than you. And her hair is gorgeous.” Grace reached up to stroke the back of her shorn locks.

Olivia gave her a sympathetic smile. “Grace, you’re smart and you’re still cute, even with messed up hair. And Brad liked you just fine at five foot two. He fell in love with you, didn’t he?”

Grace cocked an eyebrow, surprised to find herself wishing it was true. “No, he just thought he was in love.”

“Well you must have been pretty sure it was true, or it wouldn’t have scared the pants off you. Anyway, Leanne is a conniving, lying... witch. And it’s not like Brad is going to bring her to Sunday night dinner. He might not even come—he didn’t come last week.”

“I know, but I told Emily I was bringing Horatio to dinner. So you know she told Spencer and Ben, and Ben will tell Brad.”

Olivia made a growling sound in her throat as she pushed her hair back. “I really don’t want to do this. I just want to help you get back together with Brad.”

Grace wrestled with her emotions. Part of her wanted the same thing Olivia wanted. She missed him so much, and it had only been a week. But she had to face reality. “It’s the rule of three, Olivia. Since I broke up with him, I’ve had three signs we shouldn’t get back together. First, I brought him flowers, and he never got them. Second, I called him, and he wasn’t interested in talking to me. Third, he went out with another girl. And actually, I’m sure the mess I made of my hair is just another sign.”

“Grace, sometimes I want to strangle you! You have this stupid rule of three signs, but you twist it around to confirm anything you want. “How about the fact you’ve totally quit eating since you broke up? Isn’t that a sign? And how about the fact you were willing to buy him flowers and give him a card and call him and try to get back together? You’ve never done anything like that before for any guy you broke up with. Couldn’t that be a sign? And furthermore, are you going to let him end up with an evil girl who would lie and scheme to get her claws into him?”

Grace contemplated her words and blinked against watery eyes. “I just want him to be happy, whatever it takes. I don’t think I’m the one who can do that for him, but I guess it would be awful for him to end up with Leanne.”

“So we’re in agreement you’re going to tell him what she did.”

“He doesn’t want to talk to me.” The acid words rolled off her tongue.

“Fine, then I’ll talk to him.”

“No, you can’t do that.” Grace lay on her bed, staring at the watercolors adorning her walls. She murmured, “Maybe I can get someone from my art class to play Horatio...”

“Will you forget about Horatio? We’re talking about Brad, and he deserves to know the truth about Leanne.”

“Yes, but he won’t believe it coming from you or me.” Grace pursed her lips in concentration. “There’s one guy named Gavin who paints next to me, but I think he may have a crush on me.”

“Every guy you meet has a crush on you, Grace. You could just bring a different guy to Sunday night dinner and say you broke up with Horatio already. It’s totally believable.”

“What a great idea,” said Grace, perking up. “Why didn’t I think of that? I’ll bring Gavin to dinner and tell Emily I broke up with Horatio because he was being too pushy. She’ll buy that for sure.”

“That sounds kind of mean to do to Gavin,” Olivia said.

“I’ll be really clear we’re only friends.”

“You mean friends with kissing benefits? Isn’t that what you told Brad?”

“Yes, but I obviously didn’t make myself clear with Brad. I’ll be firmer with Gavin. And anyway, I don’t think I’m ready to kiss another guy yet.”

“And I’ll talk to Brad and tell him the truth about what happened.”

Grace sat up to grip Olivia’s arm. “No, you can’t tell him. If he figures it out himself, it will be a sign we should get back together.”

“Grace, that’s stupid!”

“I mean it. I forbid you to tell him. I shouldn’t have ever told you the truth. Now I don’t need you to find a Horatio for me.”